Jose Fernando de Abascal y Sousa

Jose Fernando de Abascal y Sousa (3 June 1743-30 June 1821) was the Viceroy of Peru from 20 August 1806 to 7 July 1816, succeeding Gabriel de Aviles and preceding Joaquin de la Pezuela.

Biography
Jose Fernando de Abascal y Sousa was born in Oviedo, Spain in 1743, and he came from a noble family. At the age of 19, he entered the Spanish Army, and he was promoted to colonel after 20 years of service. In 1796, he took part in the defense of Havana against the British, and he then served as Intendant of Nueva Galicia in Mexico from 1800 to 1804. In 1804, he was briefly named as Viceroy of Rio de la Plata before instead being named Viceroy of Peru; he was imprisoned by the British en route, and he was unable to assume that role until 1806. That same year, the last cargo of black slaves landed in Peru. In 1810, he oversaw some of the early royalist reactions to the Argentine War of Independence, the Bolivian War of Independence, and the Chilean War of Independence. He reincorporated Chile and Ecuador, and he was a tireless supporter of absolute monarchy, fighting to prevent the Cadiz Cortes' liberal reforms from being adopted in South America in 1812. In 1816, he was recalled at his request and returned to Spain, where he died in 1821 at the age of 79.